DC Prime: Wildcat
by DC Prime Universe
Summary: Part of the DC Prime Universe: Ted Grant has been many things in his life: a punk, a boxer and a hero, but after gaining ownership of an apartment complex from his former mentor, Ted quickly discovers alongside his estranged son Tom Bronson that there are still things left worth fighting for in the world.


**Wildcat #1: Back to Brooklyn Part One**

**Written by Deadpoolzilla & Jeremy Las Dulce**

* * *

The roar of engine belonging to a 1950's Harley-Davidson chopper could be heard coming down the hot summer pavement on the streets of New York City which was being followed a black off road jeep. On the chopper sat a sixty year old man with an old gym bag with a handful of cloths in it slung over his shoulder. He had a haggard yet still strong face looking down the road with narrowed eyes focused only on the road ahead of him and the destination he was headed to.

The man had a strong build to his body despite his age, however if you where to look under sweat-stained white t-shirt you would see a multitude of old cuts and scars that adorned his body like tattoos. His hair was grey on each side of head with only the hop of head still covered in black hair, making him look twenty years younger then he actuality was. Youth, that was one of many things the old man could never get back along with words he had never said to friends in the past, punches he now wished he never threw and loves he never got to say goodbye to.

Over the years, he had been called many things punk, fighter, hero, but there was one name Ted Grant would always be known as from now till the day he died: Wildcat.

The young twenty-one old fallowing former hero in the jeep had tan skin and feathered black hair with a cigarette in his mouth, he wore black shirt with blue jeans and tennis shoes. He was less then thrilled to be all the way out here in this god awful city with Ted, but thanks to his mother more or less guilt-tripping him into being closer to his farther; he was forced by his conscious to spend the whole summer with him in Brooklyn, which he knew was a bad idea because not only did he and his dad didn't get along much, but he feared that putting him in a huge city full hundreds of angry people would set him off in the worst kind of way.

It wasn't that he had anger issues; it was more along the line of him being metahuman with the ability to turn into a large humanoid panther and while he had control over himself in his animalistic shape, he would on occasion have an episode where his beast side would get the better of him and get him into all sorts of trouble, so the last place he wanted to be was have a freak out in a crowded area. The young man's name was Tom Bronson, better known to the world as the second Wildcat; much to his chagrin.

After an eighteen hour drive, the farther/son duo finally reached their destination. It was a three-story apartment complex that looked battered and beaten over years of rain, weather damage and vandalism. At the base of the building was at looked like a parking garage that was currently closed off by the huge sliding garage door. To Ted, this was home, but to Tom it was run-down while of bricks.

The history of the building dates all the way back the fifties where the apartments first land-lord gave Ted's mentor who was a up an coming heavyweight boxer at the time the deed to the building on a whim after a nasty divorce with his wife and was unwilling to give her any claim to the building, knowing she would have it demolished. Now of course the young boxer had no idea how to run an apartment, but that didn't stop him from juggling his career and managing building full of people, he even converted the old parking garage into a gym where a young Ted Grant would begin his long road to becoming the man he is today.

The two super-humans parked their vehicles alongside the street and waked over to the building itself, as they looked at it Tom could only say this.

Tom: Wow, what a dump

Ted: Better watch what you say kid; this used to be my old stomping ground

Tom: This explains a lot

Ted: Come on, I still gotta see Joe then I'll show you around

Tom: *rolls his eyes* oh joy...

The reason behind the trip to Ted's hometown was because the man who had trained him sent him a phone call asking him to visit and judging by the way he sounded over the phone, he didn't have much time left on this earth, so along with his reluctant son, he traveled to the city that never sleeps.

As the two entered the building, they instantly came upon the sight of the buildings worn down interior. Their was paint chipping off of the wall, rats scurrying about on the floor and the smell of mold filled the air, making Tom regret his choice to come along for this 'bonding time'. There was no one at the front desk to greet them, only an empty chair and a few keys hanging form the rotting wall.

Tom: let me rephrase what I said earlier: what a shit hole

Ted: Oh shut up, let's take the elevator

Tom: *points to the elevator* oh you mean the one that has the 'out of the order' sigh on it, that elevator?

Ted: *sighs in annoyance* fine, let's take the stairs

Tom: which floor is this guy on?

Ted: Top floor, we better start walking

Tom: *sighs* great...

The farther/son duo then headed up the stairs long winding staircase to the top floor to see Ted's elderly mentor, as they did the two men past by several silent floors; in buildings such as these their would the sounds of people watching TV, children playing and couples shouting at one another, but not so much as a whisper could be heard. Finally, the reached the top floor where they found an empty corridor just like the other floors before, only this one had a room at the very end of hall.

Ted: Wait here

Tom: *tries to light a cigarette* yeah, sure thing pop...

Ted: *snatches the cigarette out of his mouth* no smoking in the building kid *puts it out walks toward the final room*

Once the retired hero finally reached the last room, he slowly opened the door. As he did, found himself entering a darkened room with only the sun shining through the closed blinds as the only form of light. Old dust covered trophies sat upon equally dusty cabinets and drawers while black and white pictures of old victories of his teacher's past hung from the pale yellow walls. At the center of the room was hospital bed where none other then the once great Joe Morgan laid in a broken heap, not even a shadow of his former self. Even if the site saddened the former superhero, he refused to let a single tear escape from his eyes.

Ted: *pulls up a chair and sits next to Joe* Hey Joe, how y'a been?

Joe: how have I been? I lay here and shit in a bag all day y'a smuck! That's how I've been!

Ted: *gives him a small smirk* nice to see you to Joe

Joe: *smirks back* It's good to see you to y'a old alley cat; it's been awhile hasn't it?

Ted: Yeah, it has...

Joe: So what have you been up to? Still winning fights I hope

Ted: and still starting 'em

Joe: *chuckles weakly* I ain't surprised, you could never say no to a fight, no matter who the unlucky bastard was

Ted: *chuckles as well* sometimes I was the unlucky bastard

Joe: Well not to sound like a queer, but you look good for sixty. Is it still ok to call fags queers? I don't know anymore, hell these days I can't even remember what I ate for breakfast!

Ted: I don't think you can't call them either names Joe

Joe: Whatever, let 'em do what they want, if they wanna take it up the ass, let 'em take it up the ass! They ain't hurt'in anybody and let me tell y'a-

At this point, Ted kind of tuned out Joe out until his little rant was over. Joe was good man through and through and respected all types of men and women regardless of what the color of their skin was or how they lived their lives, however the once great boxer wasn't exactly the most politically correct person on the planet and tended to voice his opinion on the world in his own brand of social commentary which sometimes earned him the ire of his peers. Wildcat's mentor came from an era long since abounded and by some looked down on and secretly it broke the retired hero's heart to see the man who treated him like his own son like this.

Joe: -and that's why I bathe with a rubber ducky, but enough about my thoughts on the government, we got business to discuss

Ted: Business? What are talking about Joe?

Joe: did y'a see how empty the building was coming in here? This building used to hold over two hundred people, now it's only got ten people living here excluding me

Ted: What happened to this place?

Joe: Progression, pure and simple Ted, I couldn't keep up with the changes in New York and I got left behind. Without people coming here, I fell behind on payments and couldn't afford repairs; I'm barely hanging on as it is before I lose this place to that asshole Desmond

Ted: who's Desmond?

Joe: Roland Desmond, I never met him in person, but he's some hot shot who's buying up property in this area, he's been sending his goons to hassle me and the other people in the building. I can't go to the cops because his boys threaten to burn the building to the ground if I did, I'm in a bind here Ted and I ain't the same man as I was before, so I decided to sign the deed to the building to one guy I can trust no matter what: you

Ted: Joe I'm honored, but I don't know the first damn thing about running a place like this

Joe: So did I if you remember, but I did it with some good fashioned determination and elbow grease, Ted please I don't want this place fall into that monster's hands, it's all I have left!

Ted didn't know what else to do this situation; he had no clue how to run an apartment building, let alone one in a state such as this, but he couldn't let down the man who taught him everything he knew in and out of the ring.

Ted: Alright Joe, I'll do it

Joe: *in an exhausted tone* thank you Ted, the paperwork and the list of residents are on that shelf over there; I sighed the building over to you an hour before you got here, hope you don't mind

Ted: Of course you did, thanks Joe...

Joe: good, now get outta here! I'm gonna get some sleep...*slowly falls asleep*

Ted: sleep easy Joe... *takes the papers and quietly leaves the room*

After he had left his mentor alone to rest, he found his son quickly putting out another cigarette upon seeing his farther, however he let it slide, considering that he had a bombshell to drop on his child.

Tom: So, how did it go?

Ted: Well...I kinda became the owner of the building

Tom: *facepalms* oh you've got to be kidding me

Ted: Hey I don't like it either, but I owe that man everything! I wasn't going to let him lose this place!

Tom: So you were just like 'oh sure Joe, I'll bust my ass for your ratty-ass building'

Ted: Now you listen to me you little-

Joe: *from inside his room* shut the hell up out there! I'm trying to sleep!

Ted: *in almost a whisper* look what's done is done and like it or not we're staying here for now, so I suggest you get used to it!

Tom: ...Fine...

Ted: That's what I thought; now let's go meet the neighbors

Room 253

Tom: So who lives here again?

Tom: Some guy by the name of Arnold Wesker, the records say that he lives alone *knocks on the door* Mr. Wesker? Are you in there?

A few seconds after knocking, a short balding man wearing a pair of big pair of wire-frame glasses and a sweater-vest poked his head out of the crack of his door.

Arnold: *nervously* Y-Yes? c-c-can I h-help you?

Ted: Hello Mr. Wesker, my name his Ted Grant and this is my son Tom, I just wanted to let you know that I'm the new land-lord and I hope we can be friends

Arnold: o-oh, that-that's nice I-I guess

?: *from inside Arnold's room* who's at the door dummy?

Arnold: J-Just the new land-lord sir!

?: Well tell 'em t'a scram!

Ted: *confused* uh Mr. Wesker, is there someone else in your room?

Arnold: Yes! I mean no! I-I-I mean uh-go away! *slams his door and locks it*

Tom: ok, out of ten that was an eleven on the creepy scale

Ted: uh...let's just go to the next room

Room 144

Tom: So the guy who lives here's name Cole Cash am I right?

Ted: Yeah and he better start forking over some more of his last name soon because apparently he hasn't paid rent in over a month *knocks on the door*

Cole: *from inside his room* yeah, yeah I'm coming!

The door to Cole's room slung open to reveal a tall shirtless man wearing a only a pair on cargo shorts on and a bottle of Jack Daniels in his hand and judgeing by the look in his eyes, he was clearly unhappy with the fact that he had guests.

Cole: Who the hell are you? *takes a swig of his whisky*

Ted: My name is Ted Grant and this is my son Tom, I just wanted to inform you that this building is now under new management

Cole: oh really? By who?

Ted: By me

Cole: so the old bastard finally sold out? Can't say I blame him, but then again he's so old he couldn't-

Cole's words were cut off when Ted's fist collided with his nose, breaking it on contact and knocking him flat on his rear-end in the process.

Ted: Don't get up *to Tom* next room

Room 164

Tom: I'm getting a weird vibe from this place

Ted: Same here, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't say hello regardless

Tom: yeah, because the last two people where normal

Ted: Just shut up and stand there

Just as the retired hero was about to knock on the door, it suddenly opened by itself, allowing the two men two find a woman dressed in a bright red dress with a blindfold over her eyes sitting at a small round table, shuffling a deck of tarot cards.

Ted: *confused* uh...hello ma'am my name is-

Madame Xanadu: Ted Grant and that is your son Tomas Bronson, I know; it's a pleasure to meet you both

Ted: *still confused* uh...yeah, so I just came by to tell you that-

Madame Xanadu: you've become the new landlord and you wanted to say hello to me in hopes we can be on friendly terms during your stay here, again I know and I look forward to being friends with you both in the future

With that, the door to Xanadu's room closed as mysteriously as it opened, leaving both farther and son a bit disturbed

Tom: so um...next room?

Ted: yeah...

Room 67

Ted: ok, next up is Ken Olson-hey I know this guy!

Tom: You do?

Ted: Yeah, he was a commentator in the boxing circuit known as 'Golden Voice'; he commentated on several of my fights in my boxing days

Tom: So he's normal, thank god

Ted *knocks on the door* Hello Ken, You in there?

Just as he finished knocking, a fifty year old heavyset African-American man wearing blue shorts and a Hawaiian shirt stepped out to meet the two men.

Ken: who wants to kno-wait a sec, Ted? Ted Grant? Is that you?

Ted: Hiya golden voice

The two men laugh happily and embrace one another in a tight hug.

Ken: *pulls back* it's great to see you, did you see Joe already?

Ted: I did and he made me the new landlord

Ken: Well better you then that bastard Desmond

Ted: How's you're grand-nephew?

Ken: Well Jimmy's always busy at the Daily Planet, but I talk to him over the phone every now and again

Tom: Wait are you taking about Jimmy Olson? As in Superman's pal, that Jimmy Olson? But your-

Ken: What? Black as midnight? Boy just because I'm one color doesn't mean all my family members have to be the same color to

Ted: Don't mind my son, he's doesn't know a thing about manners

Ken: Well in any case, it's great to have you home again Ted; you wanna come it and catch up?

Ted: I'd love to Ken, but I've got to visit the other residents and tell them the news

Ken: Who have you met so far?

Ted: Wesker, Xanadue and Cash

Ken: Well I can tell you this much about those three: Wesker seems alright, but there's something up about him, Xanadue is a nice woman and Cash is an asshole

Ted: Yeah, I noticed

Ken: who's next on your list?

Ted: Some guy named John Smith

Ken: I know him, he lives four doors away from me; he seems nice enough

Ted: what about the other people living here?

Ken: Well, you just gotta meet them for yourself

Ted: Alright, well I'll talk to you later Ken

Ken: see you later Ted *closes the door*

Tom: well at least one person here is normal

Room 71

Ted and Tom didn't half to walk far to reach the next resident of the building, just as Ken said the next person on the list lived only a few doors down from where he was.

Ted: *Knocks on the door* Mr. Smith, are you in there?

John: *opens the door* oh, hello there; what's this all about?

John Smith was a skinny brown-haired man who looked in his early thirties wearing a suit and tie and looking like he was hurry.

Ted: my name is Ted Grant and this is my son Tom. I wanted to tell you that I'm the new landlord and I-

John: I'm sorry to cut you off, but I'm late for my shift at the dealership, but it was nice meeting you Mr. Grant *shakes Ted's hand*

For someone as skinny as John was, Ted felt a strong grip on his hand as the man shook his hand before heading off to his job, leaving with a sense of uneasiness about Mr. Smith.

Tom: Something up dad?

Ted: Something seems off about that guy. I don't know what it is, but I'm going to keep my eye on him

Tom: All you did was shake his hand, how do you know he's up to something?

Ted: a man's handshake can say a lot about him, besides my gut's telling that something ain't right with him

Room 286

Ted: *knocks on the door* Miss Jones, miss Pearl Jones? Are you in there?

The door did not open, only small slit in the door slipped open to show a pair yellow eyes, making the farther/son pair eyes to widen in surprise.

Pearl: What do you want?

Ted: My name is Ted Grant; I'm the new landlord of the building

Pearl: Whatever *closes the slit*

Tom: Well it's safe to say she's on the 'do not $%^ with' list

Ted: Noted

Room 13

Tom: Ok do you find it kind of funny that this Terrence Thirteen guy lives in room 13?

Ted: The irony's not lost on me *knocks on the door*

A middle-aged man wearing glasses, a black suit with a kaki trench coat over it stepped out to meet Ted and his son. The man then inspected them both intently before speaking to them.

Dr. Thirteen: hello, what can I help you with?

Ted: Hello, my name's Ted Grant and this is my son Tom; I just wanted to inform you that I'm your new landlord

Dr. Thirteen: I see, then Mr. Morgan's condition must be worsening

Ted: Sadly, yes

Dr. Thirteen: But I hope we can be on good terms in the future, now if you'll excuse me I have to follow up on this whole sea monster in New York's sewers business *closes the door*

Tom: So what was that all about?

Ted: I have no idea

Room 128

As Ted and Tom made their way toward the next room, they found the next resident standing outside his room, leaning against his door as if he were waiting for them.

Ted: You must be Jack Hawksmoor

Jack: That I and you must Ted Grant, let me guess: you've come here with your some to tell me that you've become the new landlord

Ted: Uh, yeah, but how did you know that?

Jack: *smirks* well let's just say that these walls have ears, anyway it's nice to meet you both

Ted: likewise

Jack: Well since we've said our hellos, I'll heading back inside; I've got a whole six-pack that's calling my name. It was nice meeting you both *goes back into his room*

Ted: He seems like a nice enough guy

Tom: But let me guess: you think there's some up with him to

Ted: Yeah, I'm starting to think there's something up with everyone in the building

Room 197

The next person on Ted's list went by the name of Frankie Foster, a twenty-two year old college student who lived in the apartment building on the grounds of how cheap the rent was. Like before, Ted knocked on the door and waited for the occupant of the room to reveal herself. A few seconds later, a young red-haired woman wearing a blue short-skirt, a white t-shirt and a green hoodie stepped out of the room to greet the men.

Frankie: 'sup?

Ted: Are you Frankie Foster?

Frankie: Yeah and you are?

Ted: My name's Ted Grant, I just wanted to let you know that I'm the new landlord

Frankie: Ok, just to be clear your not gonna like break my legs if I'm past rent or anything right?

Ted: Wouldn't dream of it ma'am

Frankie: Awesome, oh I should tell you that every second Friday of the month a couple of my friend's get together and we throw a party, is that cool by you?

Ted: Of course, as long as the noise doesn't bother the other residences then I'm fine with it

Frankie: Great! Thank you sir, well I need to get ready for glass, I'll talk to you later then *closes the door*

With that, the two men walked away from the room and onto the next, allowing Tom to voice his opinion on the girl.

Tom: I think I know what kind of partiers she throws in her room

Ted: Really?

Tom: I think she's a furry

Ted: *stunned* Seriously? How can you be sure?

Tom: I saw a fox costume hanging up on her wall in her room

Ted: *busts out laughing* oh this is to good!

Tom: Why do you say that?

Ted: Because if she's a furry, then she's gonna love you, well half of you anyway

Tom: Oh shut up

Room 101

The duo reached their final room, which was good news for Tom on the grounds that he was tired of going up and down this dilapidated old deathtrap of a building due to the fact that his farther shuffled up the records and didn't bother putting them in order.

The final resident was a fifty-eight year old woman by the name of Mary Dahl. The retired hero knocked on the door to get the woman's attention, however instead of finding an old woman, the two men found a little girl no more then four or five wearing a white shirt, a black skirt and tiny high-heels answer their call. While the child was unknown to them, Ted had the strangest feeling that they had seen her somewhere before.

Ted: *in a sweet tone* hi sweetie, is your grandma home?

Mary: *In an adult voice* your looking at her

Ted: *jumps back* Jesus! I didn't see that coming!

Mary: Who the hell are you people?

Tom: My name is Tom, this is my farther Ted; we came by to tell you that he's become the new owner of the building

Mary: If your hear to scare me into paying double may rent I'll-

Ted: No ma'am were not, we just wanted to say hello

Mary: Well you've said it, now goodbye *starts to close the door*

Ted: *holds it open* You look familiar, I think I've seen you before

Mary: I doubt you have

Ted: Wait now I remember you! You're Baby-Doll!

Tom: Who?

Ted: It was an old show I used to watch back when I was a kid, it was terrible

Mary: *angrily* well you'll be happy to know that I'm only a stage actor now *slams the door in his face*

Ted: *to Tom* what did I say?

Tom: *facepalms* only you dad, only you...

Ted: Well in any case that old witch was the last of the residences here, come on I still gotta show you around

Tom: Thanks, but I've seen enough of this place

Ted: True, but you haven't seen the best part

Ted lead his son back to the old parking garage where he opened the door to reveal to his son an entire gym complete with it's own boxing ring. Judging by the amount of dust that was on the equipment, it was clear that this place hadn't been used by anybody in years.

Ted: *inhales deeply* ah, you smell that son, do you know what that is?

Tom: The smell of dust?

Ted: No smartass, it's the smell of hard work and sacrifice

Tom: So sweat then?

Ted: I'm going to ignore that and keep going. This is where your old man learned how the world worked; I trained, sweated and bleed in this gym until I became the man I am now

Tom: *sarcastically* Great speech there pop

?: Yes it was

Both Ted and Tom turned around to see three men in blazers standing before them and while they didn't say out aloud, the former hero knew that these men were sent by the mysterious Mr. Desmond, but Ted played it cool and waited for the right moment to break their jaws.

Ted: Can I help you boys?

Man: Where here to see Mr. Morgan, our boss Mr. Desmond sent us to 'convince' him one last time to sell him this building

Ted: Well I hate to break it to you boys, but Mr. Morgan made me the new owner earlier today and I'm not looking to sell this place anytime soon

Man: That is unfortunate to hear, is there anyway we can convince you to change your mind

Ted: Well how about this *points to the boxing ring* you see that ring? If any of you guys can knock me out in there, I'll hand over ownership to your boss, so what do you say boys? Deal?

Man: *smirks* Deal

Tom kept a straight face, but he laughed on the inside; these three poor fools had no idea what kind of world of hurt they were about to get themselves into. He had seen his dad fight and the aftermath of whoever was unlucky to be punched by him, but he still wanted to see if his father needed some back-up considering that he wasn't in his prime anymore, even if he didn't like violence he was still willing to give a hand to his dad.

Tom: *pulls Ted aside* you want to make this a tag-team match? *eyes turn yellow*

Ted: Nah, just sit back and watch your old man work, besides I haven't hit anyone in three days

The old man and his three adversaries entered the ring, as they did; all three of Desmond's henchmen stepped rather then go in all at once.

Man: You should give up right now old man; you're fighting three guys at once

Ted: you should've brought more guys *puts is arms up in a boxing position*

The first man rushed at Ted, only to be struck down by an uppercut. The other two men lunged for their opponent, but with great speed, the former boxer blocked one man's punch and struck the other in the cheek, knocking him backwards. He then unleashed a powerful haymaker across the final man's face, sending to the ground. It was at this time that the first thug had gotten back up, pulling out a crowbar out of his blazer and attempted to strike his enemy in the head, however his attack was stopped when Ted caught his weapon in mid-swing.

Ted: Who keeps a crowbar in their blazer? *yanks it out of the man's hand and tosses out of the ring*

Just as Ted was about swing again, the second man had gotten up and wrapped his arms around the former hero from behind.

Ted: So much for playing fair

He then elbowed the thug holding him in the gut, forcing him to let go. The third thug had gotten back his feet, only to be knocked back down when Ted kicked the first man right into him, causing them both to tumble the ground once more. The old hero then gave a quick one-two punch to the second thug before giving him a finishing uppercut; he then grabbed him by his blazer and tossed him atop the pile of his comrades.

Ted: How long was that?

Tom: Forty-three seconds

Ted: Damn, I'm outta practice *to the thugs* and as for you pricks, you go tell your boss that is place ain't for sale and if he don't like that then he can take it up with me

The three men stumbled out of the ring and limped out of the gym to report to their boss, leaving Ted feeling a sense pride as his opponents scurried away like roaches running from light.

Tom: I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this isn't over, is it?

Ted: Not by a long shot

Tom: So what are you going to do now?

Ted: Wait for now, they'll be back and I'll be ready for them

Tom: We'll be ready for them

Ted: What happened to that whole 'pacifism' crap?

Tom: I'm willing to overlook my beliefs in the case of family, even if you're a jerk

Ted: *put his arm over his shoulder* Thanks son, now come on let's something to eat and there's a bar down the street that makes the best onion rings on the planet

Tom: Then by all means, lead the way Wildcat

Ted: Thank you...Wildcat

Tom: Don't call me that

The three men who had Ted sent packing reported the news they were given by the new owner of the building directly to their boss.

Desmond: So that old bastard gave ownership to someone else?

Man: Yeah boss, some guy by the name of Ted Grant

Desmond: And this one guy beat the three of you?

Man: the guy was tougher then he looked, he looks old but he fights like a Wildman!

Desmond: is that a fact? Well then we'll have to give someone to fight

Man: I can get some more of our boys and take him out and everyone else in that building

Desmond: That a good plan, except for one thing

Man: What's that?

Desmond: you're in it

With lightning fast speed, a huge hand reached out and grabbed the thug by the head and crushed it like an eggshell.

Blockbuster: Now it's a good plan

* * *

**Next Issue: Ted can hold his own against three guys, but can he handle thirty of Blockbuster's best men Or can his son help tip the scale in his favor? And will the other residences aid them or will they leave them to their fate?**


End file.
